Postgraduate Publishing studies at Edinburgh Napier University. INDUSTRY APPROVED Publishing degrees (accredited by the Professional Publishers Association and Creative Skillset). MSc Publishing was the first Publishing programme in the UK to be accredited by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA). It is now accredited by Creative Skillset (only one of two courses to hold this award). MSc Magazine Publishing is the only course of its kind in Scotland and is the only publishing course in the UK to be accredited by the PPA. The PPA is the lead body for best practice in training, development and people management for the magazine and business media industry.

London Book Fair 2013

After literally months of heightened expectation, eager staff and students from the MSc Publishing programme packed up their literary hopes and dreams and braved the five-hour train journey to London, just in time to see the 2013 Book Fair roll into town.

After leaving King’s Cross we managed to decipher the Underground maps and make our way to Earl’s Court for early afternoon. Students dispersed around the massive venue taking in everything the Fair had to offer, including industry exhibition stands, informative seminars and the general ambience of the industry’s annual bustling fair. Months of hard work at Merchiston Publishing paid off as we saw our promotional material proudly displayed at the Books From Scotland stand, including a running slide show presentation documenting our progress on each title.

Seminars were held over the three days covering a massive variety of publishing related topics. These included talks on book cover design (particularly apt given our current projects), the future of publishing, self-publishing, typographical design, HTML design and making those important first steps into the industry.

The industry was happy to relax on Tuesday evening after a busy two days at the Fair with receptions held at most stands. We were very pleased to be invited to the reception being held at Books from Scotland which provided an opportunity to converse with industry professionals as well as a chance to sample some of Scotland’s finest whisky!

An informative and thought-provoking time was had by all over the course of the three-day event, giving us all plenty to think about on the train journey home. The MSc Publishing students were all very grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this exciting and all-encompassing industry event, and look forward to returning in the future!